I was having a thematic crisis with our game last week. I got hopelessly lost scrolling through a tumblr page chock full of 1980’s Dungeons and Dragons art. There’s something about these illustrations really pulls me in. They feel novel. I’m not sure if it’s the fidelity of the facial expressions, or the detailed textures. Or maybe it’s because they’re it’s black and white look really different from the digital paintings of today. A lot of fantasy art these days feels like iterations of Warcraft or League of Legends-esque lore. But THIS art feels very dark. It feels very strange. And it tickles me in the right places.
This tumblr research inspired me to revisit my own concept art, and incorporate more gothic vibes to it. All while keeping it semi-kawaii. Because our game is about vampire cats, after all. We can’t get our hands TOO dirty.
Aaaaaand, some of the trap ideas this gave rise to:
-Armin